"There's something weird, and it don't look good

“There’s something weird, and it don’t look good.”
Is it just me, or are Halloween costumes scarier than usual this year? No, not scary in the traditional sense, but scary in the “it’s scary to pay so much for something so ugly and ill-fitting” sense?
My problems started earlier this month when I decided to honor two of my favorite films from childhood, “Ghostbusters” and “Ghostbusters 2,” and be a Ghostbuster for Halloween.
I needed something fun and economical, since I’d only wear it twice: to my friends’ Halloween celebrations out of town and to the Link Centre’s quote-along screening of “Ghostbusters” on Oct. 25.
With that in mind, I went shopping for an official women’s Ghostbuster costume.
It wasn’t long before I was disappointedly digging through costumes and shouting Bill Murray’s famous line: “Mother puss bucket.”
First of all: you can’t be a lady Ghostbuster without being a “sexy Ghostbuster.”
For ladies who want to be sexy anything – from “sexy bee” to “sexy Elmo” (I can’t make those up) – more power to you.
But Halloween means, for me, having fun and being silly, not sexy.
The women’s Ghostbusters costumes feature either a skirt or super-short shorts, and I found both ill-fitting. The proton pack was laughable: one online reviewer said it looked like it had been run over. That was being nice.
And either costume was at least $50-$60. Why would I want to pay that much for something with so little fabric and that I’d only wear twice?
And why did guys’ costumes have way more fabric but cost about half that?
Finally, I had a stroke of genius that Egon would’ve appreciated: the movies didn’t feature a woman Ghostbuster, therefore there’s no “official” women’s Ghostbuster costume.
I can make my own! On the cheap! I love this plan! I’m excited to be a part of it!
So, to City Thrift I went, and 20 minutes later I walked out with a $7 khaki jacket and a $3 black skirt. The next day, I ordered a custom name patch and an official Ghostbusters patch online.
So far I’ve spent $30 on the costume, and I still have to make a proton pack. I expect that to cost $10 or less.
With any luck, I’ll have a DIY costume that fits perfectly, is cute, not sexy, and that I can wear to the quote-along and other celebrations, and anywhere else, once I take the patches off.
A bit of imagination and awesome local thrift stores are helping make my Ghostbusters costume a reality.
Back off, man, I’m a scientist.
sheena.barnett@journalinc.com